Sonic Chronicles Book 1: Rise
by Altansar Ranger
Summary: A chronicle of the planet Mobius from Dr. Eggman's first attack on the United Federation to his Death Egg gambit. Uses elements from all the Sonic continuities: games, cartoons, U.S. Comics and British comics. Rated T for some swearing, battlefield injury and the occasional death. My first fanfic, please be gentle! Flames will be ignored.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Hi all. This is my first ever fanfic, so please be gentle! A word on the continuity of this fic: It's primarily based on the Archie Sonic cast, but takes in various characters and elements from other Sonic the Hedgehog sources, including the multiple TV series, the games and the British comics. **There** will be OC's, but most of the action will be centred on the established cast. Also, there will be various pop culture references throughout the text. The explanation for these is that my take on Mobius is that its culture, entertainment and technology is parallel to our real life world, although its history is quite different. Bottom line: Mobius is similar to early 21st century Earth, except with a different history and two sentient races. Disclaimer: Sonic and all associated characters and settings belong to Sega and Archie Comics (apart from the ones owned by Ken Penders and the Fleetway comics writing team.) Without further ado, let the story begin!

TIME: 21 July, 3322

PLACE: United Federation Supreme Court, Empire City

The courtroom fell silent as the judge's gavel fell. His voice rang out across the room. "Ivo Julian Robotnik, this court finds you guilty of the charges of theft of scientific equipment, terrorism and treason. Do you have anything to say before sentence is carried out?"

The accused was an obese man probably in his forties or fifties. He was bald, but an extravagant and neatly groomed moustache sprouted from under his large nose. Against the advice of his lawyer, he had chosen to face the court in his typical everyday clothing. A pair of black boots with white zip fasteners down the sides adorned his feet and lower legs, worn over a pair of black stretchy trousers that came to exactly halfway up his voluminous torso. His white shirt was barely visible under a red anorak with white trim and yellow pockets, that the accused stubbornly continued wearing despite the fact that the courtroom was sweltering in the summer heat. The man also wore a pair of small, dark, reflective glasses, and a pair of sophisticated goggles or lenses on his head. Whether the goggles were just sitting on his bald head or were actually surgically implanted into it was, however, unclear.

"Doctor." the accused hissed in an annoyed voice. The judge, temporarily put on the back foot, frowned. "Pardon?"

"My title is Doctor Ivo Julian Robotnik. Please have the courtesy to address me as such." Robotnik declared arrogantly. There was a collective gasp from around the court. "I would advise the defendant to kindly remember where he is and what he has been found guilty of." the judge said coldly. "Terrorism and treason both carry the death penalty in the United Federation." Robotnik started laughing in an irritating, high-pitched chortle.

"Treason?" Robotnik's dark glasses glinted in the light as he stared at the judge. "How can my attempted coup be considered treason when the United Federation would have been forever strengthened by my rule? Let's face facts, a mouldy lemon could do a better job at government than the fat joke that is currently in office. As for terrorism, I believe that is just what the big army calls the actions of the little army."

"This court has heard enough of the defendant's treasonous doublespeak." The judge angrily slammed his gavel down once more. "The case of the United Federation government versus Ivo Julian Robotnik is over. You have been found guilty by this jury, and I hereby sentence you to execution by lethal injection at a date yet to be decided. You do, of course, have the right to appeal." Robotnik grinned a maniacal toothy leer at the judge "I'm afraid that you underestimate me, your honour." Robotnik loaded the 'your honour ' with heavy sarcasm. "I do believe that my emancipation is near."

"Hardly." snorted the judge. "G.U.N. security forces surround the courtroom, and helicopter gunships patrol overhead." The judge's voice tailed off as he noticed a low, rumbling vibration running through the courtroom. The two G.U.N. security officers guarding Robotnik noticed it too, and put their hands to their gun holsters. Robotnik leaned casually against the wall of the reinforced plastic defendant's box and grinned. "Well, that does leave one direction undefended, doesn't it, your honour?"

The floor of the courtroom opened like a gaping mouth under the defendant's box, dropping Robotnik into the pit below. The shocked court members had no chance to regain their composure as something enormous burrowed up from below. The judge's eyes bulged as he saw that the 'something' was a huge robot shaped vaguely like a massive mole. The mole's front paws were clamped together, the claws rotating like drill bits. On top of where the robot mole's head would have been was a clear plastic dome, and Dr. Robotnik was seated proudly inside the dome. He was laughing like a maniac, and his greatly amplified voice boomed around the wreckage of the courtroom. "You really thought that the paltry force of robots I attacked United Federation territory with was all I had? Allow me to introduce one of my other creations. It's designated the E-35, but you can just call it the 'Egg Mole.'"

A bullet pinged harmlessly off the Egg Mole's reinforced plastic dome. Robotnik turned around in the cockpit to see one of the G.U.N. guards holding a pistol in his shaking hands. The guard fired again. This time, the bullet glanced off the Egg Mole's thick shoulder armour. Robotnik tutted. "How rude. I see you all need to learn some manners."

The Egg Mole's front drill claws stopped rotating and disengaged, bringing the bottom half of its head into view. A hatch opened under its lower jaw, revealing the six-barrelled shape of a minigun. At the same time, loud rock music started playing over speakers built into the Egg Mole's body. Some of the people in the courtroom recognised the opening bars of AC/DC's song 'Shoot to Thrill' and dived for whatever cover was available, realising what would happen.

With a sound like a huge sheet of canvas being ripped, the Egg Mole opened fire. The jury stampeded for the exits as the Egg Mole slowly started to spin in a full circle, stitching a line of bullet holes across the wall. Only a few escaped. At the close range the Egg Mole was firing at, most of the jury simply disintegrated in the rapid spray of bullets. The judge stood defiantly, ready to meet his end with dignity, when the stream of bullets ceased. Smoke wisped from the barrels of the minigun as Robotnik leered at the judge from the Egg Mole's cockpit. "It seems the tables have turned somewhat, your honour." "You won't get away with this, Ivo. Justice will catch up with you in the end." the judge declared defiantly. Robotnik simply laughed. "Oh, that is such an over dramatic cliché. I have many resources, high technology and military grade hardware. When I return, you'll all know it, not just a few yokels from Frontier Canyon." The Egg Mole's gun retracted and its claws began spinning up again. Robotnik gestured dramatically from his seat. "From this day forth, Doctor Ivo Julian Robotnik no longer exists. I have a new purpose and a new name. The world will soon learn to fear the name of…Doctor Eggman!" With a rumble, the Egg Mole descended back into the earth, leaving in its wake chaos, destruction and a very concerned Supreme Court judge.

Next time on Sonic Chronicles: We join the worlds' fastest hedgehog in the days before he became a hero, as he enjoys a period of family bliss on South Island. A period of time destined to be all too brief, as the spectre of the Eggman lurks on the horizon. Join us next time for Chapter 2: "First step to an oncoming storm." Please R&R.


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back to Sonic Chronicles! Thank you to Issun the Wandering Writer for my first ever review, I'm glad you liked the start. Also many thanks to Prowerboy for his support. As promised, Chapter 2 shines some light on Sonic's pre-hero family life. A small side note: most of the mentioned family members are from the Sonic Underground cartoon. If you believe that this cartoon was a crime against hedgehogness, don't worry: the backstory is completely different, and the characters won't be making much of an appearance after this chapter. BTW, the shoes that Sonic's described as wearing aren't his trademark red and white sneakers. The reason for this will become clear as the story progresses. The shoes described are based aesthetically on the time travel shoes from AoStH.**

TIME: 12 April 3324

PLACE: Suburbs of Emerald Town, South Island

"It's alive! It's alive!" The badly miscast mad scientist on the TV set cackled insanely as his enormous robot lurched upright from the stereotypical oak slab surrounded by Tesla coils. Lounging on a nearby sofa, a blue hedgehog gave an exaggerated yawn. "What a load of rubbish!"

The blue hedgehog looked to be about fourteen. His quills were swept back and downward in a trendy cut, popular among young Mobian hedgehogs. His eyes were bright green, and he had a hairless patch of tan skin on his belly. His muzzle was also tan, and it seemed to bear a near-permanent cheeky smirk. His only clothing was a pair of white gloves, white socks, and a pair of red, yellow and black trainers.

Another hedgehog sat next to him on the sofa. This one was female, around sixteen or so, and a bright magenta colour. Her quills were also styled in a reverse downward sweep, but a forward-swept cowlick of pink hair sprouted from between her ears. Her eyes were a deep golden brown colour, and she wore a crescent shaped necklace. She was dressed in a maroon short-sleeved blouse with gold trim, a navy blue miniskirt, black elbow length gloves and black thigh boots. She looked up from the notebook she was taking notes in and shot an irritated glare at the blue hedgehog, who was nudging her to get her attention.

"Maurice, will you please leave me alone! I have to get this preliminary essay in for my media studies class, and I'd get it done a lot faster without you bugging me!" The blue hedgehog scowled, annoyed. "Sonia, I keep telling you! Call me Sonic!"

"Not a chance, Maurice Ogilvie Hedgehog." Sonia gave him a slightly malicious grin. "Just because you picked up a stupid nickname doesn't mean I have to call you by it."

Sonic/Maurice sulked. "Of all the family unit combinations I could have ended up with after the custody battle, I had to get stuck with you, Sonia." Sonic recalled the somewhat twisted web of relationships that the Hedgehog family had suffered over recent years. Sonic had been one of three children born to Jules and Bernice. His siblings were his older sister, Sonia, and his younger brother, Manik. However, over the years that the young hedgehogs had grown up, there had been a cooling of their parent's relationship. Eventually, after a particularly vicious argument, Jules and Bernice had split up. While Jules took off with his new girlfriend, Alina, a purple hedgehog who claimed to be of a noble bloodline, Bernice sought comfort with Jules' older brother, Charles, a noted scientist. After a long and complex custody battle, Sonic and Sonia opted to stay with Charles and Bernice, while Manik opted to join Jules and Alina.

"You had to go there, didn't you?" Sonia replied, unamused. "Now, as I am obviously not going to get any peace until I hear you out, what did you want?"

"Heh… I just wanted to point out that that bozo…" Sonic jabbed a thumb at the TV, which was now showing the mad scientist flailing a flaming torch around as the robot monster advanced on him menacingly. "…sounds just like that Robotnik guy on the news a couple of years back! You remember, the one who caused chaos, blew up the courtroom in Empire City and then escaped?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Maurice, just grow up! I don't find jokes about terrorists at all funny." Sonia turned back to her notebook in disgust. Sonic just shrugged. "Whatever. Now, can we give up on this black and white garbage and watch something else?" Without waiting for an answer, Sonic snatched up the remote and stopped the film in the Blu-Ray drive. The TV switched back to the music channel it had previously been set to, and Sonia clapped her hands over her ears as heavy rock music poured from the speakers. Onscreen, a leopard, a bulldog and a goat pounded their instruments mercilessly while a rabbit with numerous studs and rings in his long ears yelled gibberish down his microphone. Sonic leapt off the sofa and started break-dancing, singing along at the top of his voice. Fortunately for Sonia, her acoustic torment was brief, as the TV switched off. An acrid smell of burning plastic came from the plug.

"Bravo, little brother." Sonia said snidely. "Your chosen music was so awful, even the TV committed suicide to get away from it." Sonic gave his sister a sour look. "Don't try and pin this on me, Sis. I bet Uncle Chuck blew every fuse in the house with one of his wacky experiments again." Sonic walked over to the light switch and flicked it. Nothing happened. "See?" Sonic declared triumphantly. "Uncle Chuck's nuked the fuse box again! I'm going down to his workshop to give him a piece of my mind!"

"Maurice, are you sure that's a good idea?" Sonia started to ask, but Sonic was already out of the back door. Sonia sighed and followed her younger brother at a more restrained pace. Walking out into the garden, Sonia looked towards Charles' scientific workshop, a large building at the bottom of the garden resembling a cross between a conservatory and a nuclear bunker. She noticed, with some alarm, that there was a large and impressive car parked in the driveway, and that Sonic was shouting at a skunk who was standing in front of the workshop and blocking Sonic's entry. Rushing over, Sonia dragged the irate Sonic away from the bemused-looking skunk. "Hey, what are you doing, Sonia?" Sonic declared angrily. "This bozo won't let me in to see Uncle Chuck!"

"Maurice, you're an idiot." Sonia hissed quietly. "Look at what he's wearing." Sonic looked the skunk over. He was dressed in a dark grey military uniform of boots, trousers, jacket and beret. Two gold studs adorned his lapels, and a purple band ran round his sleeves near the cuffs.

"Yeah, nice duds. So what?" Sonic asked. Sonia sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Only you, Maurice. Only you would pick a fight with a lieutenant in the King's Royal Guards." Sonic's eyes widened enormously. "Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh is right, Maurice. Be sure to write and tell me how they decorate the royal dungeons." Sonic was saved any more embarrassment as the door to the workshop swung wide and two figures emerged. The first was a hedgehog in his mid-sixties. Perhaps once he had been the rich cobalt blue colour of Sonic, but age had reduced his colour to a faded light blue. Otherwise, he greatly resembled his nephew, although he had large bushy grey eyebrows and a large grey handlebar moustache. The other figure was a male chipmunk in his mid-fifties. He too had a grey moustache, although it was smaller and neater than the hedgehog's. He was wearing a very ornate red and blue coat and, despite his stern demeanour, had a humorous twinkle in his brown eyes.

"Everything all right, Lieutenant St. John?" The chipmunk asked in a deep, mellow voice. The skunk came to attention and saluted. "No problem, your majesty. The natives are a bit restless, that's all." Lieutenant St. John indicated Sonic and Sonia. The older hedgehog groaned a little at the sight of his young relatives. He turned to address the chipmunk. "King Acorn, may I introduce my niece, Sonia, and my nephew, Maurice Ogilvie, although he prefers it if people call him by his nickname of 'Sonic. '"

The monarch of the Mobian kingdoms smiled knowingly. "The young certainly like their nicknames. A few years back, for some reason, Sally decided that she wouldn't answer to any name other than 'Bean'. Fortunately she grew out of it. Can you really imagine a future queen with a name like that? 'Queen Bean Acorn the first.' I hardly think that would go over well with the councillors!" The small group laughed at King Acorn's story. The king then crouched slightly to address Sonic and Sonia. "I just need to discuss a couple of things with your uncle, you two. You can have him back in about five minutes."

"Yes, your majesty." Sonia curtseyed politely and started dragging Sonic back to the house before he blurted out anything likely to cause trouble. King Acorn chuckled as he watched them go. "They're so much like Elias and Sally it's uncanny, Charles."

"That they are." Charles the hedgehog grinned back. "I'm sorry about the energy detection device shorting out, your majesty. I really thought I'd cracked it this time." King Acorn clapped Charles on the back in a comradely way. "Live and learn, Chuck. And please drop the 'your majesty' bit. We've known each other long enough for you to call me Max." King Max sighed deeply, suddenly seeming depressed. "Pity about the energy detector, though. We need to find the man somehow."

"Forgive me for saying it, Max, but why can't we just let the United Federation clean up their own mess? Isn't he their problem?" Charles asked. Max laughed humourlessly. "Yes, well, that's part of the great and convoluted game of politics. It wasn't that long ago in history that the Acorn Kingdom and the United Federation were tearing each other apart in total war. We may ostensibly be allies now, but this business is clearly a case of 'you scratch our back, or we'll stick a knife in yours.'" King Max leaned back against the wall of the workshop, relaxing slightly. "You sure you wouldn't rather use the workshops at the palace, Charles? We've got cyclotrons, laser levels, electron microscopes… To you, it'd be candy land." Charles smiled knowingly at the king. "I think I'll pass, Max. You know a large, well-ordered workshop isn't really my thing." The two old friends shared the private joke. Both knew full well that Charles' workshops always resembled a dumping ground for electrical equipment. "I'll see you as soon as my schedule allows, Chuck. Let me know if you make any progress." King Max shook Charles' hand. "See you soon, Max. Give my love to Alicia and the kids."Charles replied. The two friends went their separate ways. Only when King Max was safely in the rear seat of his limo did he pull a dog-eared leaflet from his pocket and study it thoughtfully.

The leaflet was dominated by a criminal-record photo of a fat man with a huge moustache and small round glasses. Underneath, in bold block capitals were the words: "WANTED: DR. IVO JULIAN ROBOTNIK, A.K.A DR. EGGMAN. WANTED IN CONNECTION WITH CRIMES AGAINST THE STATE OF THE UNITED FEDERATION. WARNING. THIS MAN IS DANGEROUS. IF SEEN, IMMEDIATELY CONTACT YOUR NEAREST G.U.N. OR ACORN ROYAL GUARD OUTPOST."

 **Join us next time on Sonic Chronicles as King Max makes a diplomatic visit to the third great superpower of Mobius (and I bet you were thinking it was just the Acorn Kingdom and the United Federation!) See if you can guess who the third Mobian superpower is. I may even offer a small prize (OC inclusion in the story as a minor character) if anyone guesses correctly...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, as promised, the third Mobian superpower will be revealed this chapter. Presenting... The Felis Empire! Not heard of it? There's a reason.**

 **The Felis Empire is one of my own fan creations. The potted backstory is that centuries ago, there was a schism in the Acorn Kingdom that resulted in a mass exodus of the feline Mobian species. Settling in a distant island continent, they developed their own highly evolved but isolated nation. Think of the Empire as the Archie Sonic comic's 'Felidae', but with the culture and outlook of Meiji era Japan and 21st century technology. Oh, and I slipped in a reference to Babylon 5 this chapter. Shouldn't be too hard to spot...**

 **My thanks to DevinMatt for following my story, and special thanks to Chinerpteron for not only following, but giving me my first favourite! On with the saga. Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic, blah blah blah, all characters belong to Sega, Archie, DiC, Fleetway, Ken Penders, etc, etc, the Felis Empire is my own creation not to be used without my permission yadda yadda snore...**

TIME: 7 May, 3324

PLACE: Imperial palace, Starlight city, Felis Empire.

Emperor Solar allowed his attention to drift from his current diplomatic audience for a second, gazing up at the massive white marble statue of Imperatrix Solus that dominated the audience chamber of the palace. The statue of the founder of the Felis Empire looked down with benevolent gaze at the Emperor, a tall figure with golden fur and deep orange eyes, resplendent in his red-and-gold robes of state, and his visitor, who despite also being royalty, looked very drab by comparison. Although Emperor Solar was starting to feel a little fed up with the visitor's flattery and diplomatic manoeuvres, on the surface, the supreme ruler of the Felis Empire embodied the inscrutability his people were renowned for. However, the fact remained that Solar was a warrior as well as a politician, and he appreciated plain talk. Solar looked up and cut into the dialogue.

"Your tale is a fascinating one, King Acorn. However, this problem belongs to the United Federation. You may be bound by treaty to aid them, but this does not apply to the Empire. Five hundred years ago, we rode out the storm of the last Great War by declaring our neutrality. We will certainly keep watch for any evidence of this 'Eggman', but any Royal Guard outposts installed on Imperial soil will be treated as an unofficial declaration of war."

A young cat, about fourteen years of age, entered the audience chamber. Her fur was a light violet colour, swept up into two tufted sweeps almost like sideburns on the side of her head. The longer fur at the rear of her head was secured in a short ponytail with a red hairband. Her muzzle was snow-white, and her large, almond-shaped eyes were lemon yellow. A long tail with two noticeable kinks in it waved behind her. She was dressed in red-and-gold robes of a similar design to the Emperor's, although noticeably less ornate. She was obviously known to the katana-bearing Imperial Guardsmen as she was permitted to approach the Emperor's seat unopposed. She bowed deeply before Solar, touching her head to the floor in a respectful kneeling bow. "My life at your command, father."

Emperor Solar accepted the formal salutation, but remained inscrutable. "Blaze. I trust you have a good reason to interrupt a royal audience?" Princess Blaze raised her head to look at her father. "My apologies, father, but two representatives from the United Federation have arrived and are seeking an audience." Solar scratched his chin. "Show them in, daughter. If I am correct, they are here for the same reason as our other visitor."

Princess Blaze retreated, returning moments later with a pair of humans that were under escort by two more Imperial Guards. The first human was a thin man in a light grey suit and fair skin. His watery blue eyes darted around the chamber, as if he was ill at ease in unfamiliar territory. A well-groomed coif of ginger hair sat atop his head. The second figure, despite being bulkier than the first, was also significantly taller. He stood ramrod-straight in his dark grey military uniform, with the star and laurel wreath insignia of G.U.N., the standing army of the United Federation, displayed proudly on one sleeve, and five gold stars adorning each of his epaulettes. He had salt-and-pepper hair and mismatched eyes: one blue, one brown. "Presenting Jerome Hull, aide to the President of the United Federation, and Abraham Cyrus Tower, chief of staff for the Guardian Units of the Nation." Blaze announced formally. Solar nodded. "Very good, daughter. You and their escort may leave now." Blaze bowed again, as the Imperial Guardsmen saluted, before all three backed away and left the audience chamber

"Welcome, gentlemen. I believe you know King Maximilian Acorn XIV, ruler of the Acorn Kingdom?" Solar indicated King Max with a wave of the hand. "We have met." stated Ambassador Hull simply. "With such insight, I am sure you have guessed at the reason for our visit."

"Eggman?" Asked Solar, smiling wryly. Ambassador Hull nodded. "He is a threat to the whole world, and should be met by a concentrated effort from a coalition of nations." Emperor Solar leaned slightly forward, meeting Hull's gaze. "I reiterate what I have already told King Acorn. Any information on this 'Eggman ' will be forwarded to you immediately, but no outside forces can be allowed to use the Empire as a staging post."

"I'm sorry, your highness, but things have changed since your nation entered its policy of isolationist neutrality." A touch of steel had entered Hull's voice. "I know you appreciate plain speaking, so I will be blunt. Either a nation works with the Federation, or they're against the Federation. There's no middle ground anymore." Hull paused. Solar remained expressionless. Hull continued. "The forces of G.U.N. are the most advanced fighting force in the world. We will not hesitate to use them on a nation that opposes us…"

"Enough." Emperor Solar snapped in a deathly quiet voice that nevertheless brooked no argument. "Save your threats for those who choose to give in to them, or for those too weak to oppose them, not for me or my empire. Tell your President that should his warriors enter Imperial territory on the order of those who suppose themselves to be powers, they will shortly be educated as to the nature of true power." Flinging his arms wide, a burning wreath of white fire surrounded and played around Solar like the wings of a Phoenix as he continued speaking. The assembled ambassadors shielded their eyes from the actinic glare and staggered back, away from the furnace blast of heat. "The skies will open and deliver the first part of the lesson in a display that a blind man could not fail to notice. Anyone foolish enough to ignore this warning will find actually entering the skies even more dangerous. Never forget, gentlemen, what a scion of the line of Imperatrix Solus is, or what that means, or you shall swiftly learn the difference in power between a bearer of the Solus Gene…and a human at the controls of a metal suit." Solar flourished with his arms and allowed the white-hot halo of flame to flicker out. "The Felis Empire is, for the moment, neutral. Do not give me cause to reconsider this position."

Outside the audience chamber, a young Mobian teen, probably about fifteen, was gazing up at another huge statue of Imperatrix Solus. The Mobian girl was apparently some form of rodent, resembling a squirrel without a tail. Her eyes were an aqua blue colour, while her hair was combed forward into a deep red cowlick. Most of her body was covered in chestnut brown fur, apart from the front of her torso, which was light tan, and a deep red stripe down her back. Her outfit was a formal mint green dress and a gold coronet.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The rodent looked over her shoulder to see a Mobian cat around her own age, dressed in ornate robes. "Yes, it is." the rodent agreed. "Who does it depict?" The cat seemed surprised at the question. "That is Imperatrix Solus, founder of our Empire, first scion of the Solus Gene, illuminate of the Sol Force, defender of our people, Phoenix Queen and Mother Of Us All." The rodent nodded. "That sounds…impressive. She must have achieved a lot to be remembered with a collection of titles like that."

"And it was, that the tyranny of the Acorn line displeased Solus, Illuminate of Sol, and she led her people out of the tyrant's grip. The Arch-tyrant Alexander pursued, but the fire of Sol burst forth from the being of Solus. With spiral shield and burning lance she struck down the arrows of the tyrant's army, and with the cobalt flames of the Sol Force she smote our foes. Thus were the people of Solus saved to claim their new land, and vengeance dealt upon the arch-tyrant Alexander." The cat said, as if reading from a book. The rodent frowned. "Pardon?" The cat elaborated on her recitation. "It is an excerpt from the Book of Emperors, the Felis Empire's combined holy writ and historical chronicle. It's required reading for all students."

"That's interesting." mused the rodent. "No offence, but the histories of the Acorn Kingdom paint a quite different picture. They merely say that King Alexander Acorn was assassinated by an unnamed person, and that the assassin and her followers were exiled from the Acorn Kingdom."

"History is a three-edged sword." declared the cat matter-of-factly. "Our side, their side, and the truth. Probably both the Acorn Kingdom and the Felis Empire have a few historical skeletons they'd prefer to keep in the closet."

"That's true enough." smiled the rodent. "I'm sorry, I didn't give my name. I'm Sally. And you are?" The cat looked slightly uncomfortable, but gave her name. "I am Ororo Felicia Sybilline Kusanagi Estellise Repede of Noble House Incendrius, line of Solus and Bearer of the Flame." The cat laughed weakly at Sally's dumbfounded expression. "Most people prefer to call me by my nickname of 'Blaze.'" Blaze paused slightly, seeming to be slightly worried about something. "I apologise, Sally. Please don't think me rude, but I am unable to place your species. Could you please enlighten me?"

"No offence taken, Blaze. I'm a chipmunk, but you're not the first to be unable to tell." Sally looked ruefully over her shoulder at her short stump of a tail. "When I was very young, I decided to try and explore my home's wine cellar. My tail ended up trapped in the trapdoor leading down to the cellar. I was stuck there for two and a half days before the butler found me. By that time, the damage to my tail was irreparable, so it required amputation. It's a constant reminder to me to look before I leap."

"I have a similar tale to tell…if you'l pardon the pun." Blaze smiled a little, swishing her double-kinked tail round her side to allow Sally to see. "I too was young when I tumbled out of the window of the highest tower of the castle while trying to recapture my pet bird. I survived only because of my older sister, who goes by the nickname of Pyre. As I fell, she grabbed me by the tail and pulled me back up. My father was furious in his worry, but I had already suffered two lasting punishments for my lack of care." Blaze held her tail and tapped one of the kinks thoughtfully. "The grabbing of my tail by Pyre saved my life, but broke my tail in two places. The breaks healed poorly, and as such, I'll carry these kinks until the end of my life. I believe that the experience was also the root of my fear of heights."

"I don't believe you told me who your father was." Sally said curiously. "He must be pretty important to have a castle." Blaze nodded. "My father is Emperor Solar, supreme leader of the Felis Empire, descendant of the line of Solus, defender of the faith, guardian of the realm, son of Heaven and inheritor of the flame of Sol."

"Wow, you're a princess?" Sally laughed. "That's a kick in the head, so am I! My father is King Maximilian Acorn XIV. So, I guess I'll see you at the state banquet later…princess?"

Blaze looked a little nonplussed for a minute, then smiled. "Of course…princess."

 **Well, that's the in-story introduction to not just Sally, but Blaze as well. As you might have guessed, Blaze's background is totally different to the canon. This is partly because she's one of my favourite characters and I wanted to give her a chance to interact with the story to a greater extent than the odd cross-dimensional visit, but mainly because her canon story is a mess. I mean, is she from a parallel universe or a post-apocalyptic future? If the answer is "both", how come she only looks a couple of years older than she did in Sonic Rush when she's in Crisis City when it's 200 years later? Also, dimensional travel is revealed to be quite dangerous to reality in both 'canon' Sonic (Sonic Rush) and non-canon Sonic (Sonic X), so you'd think that a royal who claims to be all about defending her people would shy away from casually hopping between universes just to take part in Extreme Gear races and the Olympic Games!**

 **Speaking of Sonic X, Ambassador Hull is based visually on the President's first aide from Sonic X, the one who got fired for making a dodgy deal with Eggman. I think that character's name was Jerome, but I'm not sure. I don't remember if his surname was ever mentioned, so I gave him the surname of "Hull" after the wartime American foreign minister, Cordell Hull.**

 **Next time on Sonic Chronicles: Some light is shined on the formative experiences of a certain fox with double the normal amount of tails. Be sure not to miss it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, as promised, here's a bit of an insight on the pre-Sonic days of everyone's favourite twin-tailed fox. Many thanks to my new follower, Doomxdesire94, and thank you to guest reviewer "John" for your kind words and good wishes. As usual, I state that I don't own any of the Sonic characters in this chapter apart from Tusk. They all belong to either Sega, Archie Comics, Fleetway comics or Ken Penders.**

TIME: 18 May, 3324

PLACE: Suburbs of Emerald Town, South Island

Rosemary Prower frowned suspiciously at her dustbin. The early-forties fox woman had been just about to take out another load of domestic waste, when she could have sworn she had seen the dustbin move. She moved a little closer. Yes, the dustbin was definitely rocking gently from side to side. Grabbing a broom that was propped against the back wall of the Prower residence, Rosemary walked cautiously over to the dustbin, hooking the broom handle through the lid of the bin and lifting it. When nothing came flying out, Rosemary walked up to the bin and looked inside. She was both shocked and amazed to find her first-born son stuffed upside-down into the bin.

"Miles?" Rosemary clapped her hand over her mouth for a moment before coming to her senses and tipping the bin over and freeing her son from his confinement. The young fox crawled out of the bin, brushing various mouldy food scraps out of his fur. "Thank you, mum." he said sheepishly. Rosemary glared at her son, not in anger but in protective worry. "Who did this to you, honey?" she asked gently. Miles Prower remained silent, large blue eyes unable to meet his mother's gaze.

Rosemary placed her hands on her youngest son's shoulders. "They told you to keep quiet, didn't they?" Miles only nodded in reply. Rosemary sighed deeply. "Son, I'm not so old yet that I don't remember that the unwritten rule of childhood is that you don't tell on people who are causing you grief, but you're a smart boy. I'm sure you can see that keeping it all to yourself will end up hurting you more than telling someone who can help you. So I'm going to ask you again. Who put you in the bin?"

"Tusk." Miles sniffled. Rosemary nodded. "Tusk the Warthog?" she prompted. Miles nodded in reply. Rosemary ruffled Miles' fluffy quiff of orange fur. "That wasn't so hard, was it, honey? And telling me proves you're a lot braver than that jerk Tusk. Now, go and take a shower. You can't meet your favourite grandfather smelling like a landfill site, can you?" Miles' ears perked up at his mother's words. "Uncle Merlin?" Rosemary smiled at her son. "Uncle Merlin. He should be arriving soon." Miles gave an excited yip and dashed off indoors. Rosemary's smile disappeared as she followed him indoors.

Entering the living room, Rosemary found four other foxes, one in an armchair and the other three sitting together on the sofa. The fox in the centre of the sofa was the oldest in the room, possibly sixty-something, possibly up to eighty-something. It was difficult to tell, as he moved with the vigour of a much younger fox, and always seemed to be smiling, giving his face an even more youthful look. His eyes were blue and sparkled with mischief, and he stroked his pointed grey beard thoughtfully. He was wearing a loose brown robe not unlike a monk's habit and a pair of sandals. Beside him sat a male fox in his late teens or early twenties. His hair was combed over one eye, and he was wearing the uniform of a junior lieutenant in the Acorn Kingdom's self-defence forces. On the other side of the elder fox, there was a young female fox in her mid-teens. Her fur was a little darker than the other foxes' and her eyes were a flinty blue colour. She was wearing purple leggings, knee high boots, a black fitted T-shirt and a green item of clothing that looked a bit like a karate gi. The fourth fox, sitting on the armchair, looked to be in his forties. The bright orange fur of his youth had darkened into a rusty brown. His eyes were deep blue, although only one was visible. The other eye was presumably damaged or lost, as a black eyepatch covered his left eye. He wore an ornate military uniform bearing the insignia of a brigadier-general.

Rosemary marched up to the military fox in the armchair, momentarily ignoring the others. "Amadeus, can we talk?" she spoke into his ear. The one-eyed fox looked up, smiling slightly. "I get the feeling that if I said no, I'd lose my other eye, so what is it you want to talk about, dear?"

"Miles." Rosemary said simply, without smiling. Amadeus' face fell too. "Oh. Is he being picked on again?" Rosemary nodded. "That deadbeat Tusk threw him in our dustbin, for crying out loud!" Amadeus' single eye blazed with fury. "He what? Well, I guess I'd better go round and tell Mrs. Warthog what her dear son has been doing while out of her sight! Please excuse me, chaps." Amadeus stood up and charged out of the room with all the righteous fury of an avenging angel. The elder fox on the sofa chuckled. "You picked a good husband there, Rosie. He still shows all the decisive dash that earned him the title of 'conductor of the battlefield.'" He suddenly grew serious, and when he spoke again, he sounded concerned. "How is Miles?" Rosemary shook her head. "Physically, nothing more than a couple of bruises. As for his mental state, your guess is as good as mine." The older fox looked deeply sad, as if bearing a huge weight.

"The mark of the Kitsune is a difficult burden to bear, Rosie. Great gifts always inspire jealousy among others. I just wish I could do something to help Miles beyond giving him moral support." Rosemary looked equally worried. "I know what you mean, dad. Miles would be a target anyway just for his high intelligence, but his…other affliction…makes it ten times worse."

As if on cue, the subject of their discussion walked into the room, freshly washed and brushed. Miles Prower was a young fox, only eight years old. His fur was a very vibrant pale orange, bordering on golden yellow, and his eyes were a rich sky blue. He was wearing his normal outfit of white gloves and a pair of red and white shoes. At first glance, he looked like any other fox boy on Mobius. However, a closer inspection would show that Miles was no ordinary fox. For a start, he was a phenomenal child prodigy. At only eight, he was already intelligent enough to devour university textbooks. That was why the paperwork had just come through granting permission for Miles to skip both his remaining years of primary and all of his secondary education, and engage in a postal university course with the renowned scientist and scholar Professor Marcus Pickle. The second unusual thing about Miles waved behind him. Instead of a single foxes' brush, as found on all his relatives, two large fluffy tails sprouted from the base of his spine. The young foxes' twin tails wagged as he caught sight of the figure on the sofa. "Uncle Merlin!"

"Hello, my boy!" Merlin Prower chuckled as Miles ran over and hugged him. The younger male fox on the sofa reached over and gave Miles a playful noogie. "Hi there, squirt." he smiled. "Hi, cousin Errol." Miles replied, hugging the other male fox. The female fox looked on with an expression of slight amusement. "Do I have to take a shower before I get a hug?" she asked playfully. Miles ran over and gave his other cousin, Moraine, a hug. "That's more like it, Tails." she grinned.

"Moraine, please don't taunt my son like that." Rosemary said in a steely voice. Moraine frowned slightly. "It's not a taunt, auntie, it's a nickname. Besides, he doesn't seem to mind." Rosemary stared Moraine down. "I seem to be out of sugar. Would you mind making yourself useful and heading downtown to buy some?" Moraine rolled her eyes. "Fine." she replied sulkily. "Can I come?" Miles piped up, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room. Moraine smiled at her young cousin. "If you think you can keep up. Let's go, Tails!"

Walking down the street, Miles and Moraine soon came to a long viaduct that connected Emerald Town with the highway with Forest Town further inland, and the adjacent nature reserve, Green Hill Park. The view from the viaduct was spectacular. On a clear day you could see almost as far as Cocoa Island in the west, and on a clear night, the lights of the Spring Yard Amusement Park lit up the eastern horizon. Miles dashed out onto the bridge, peering over the guard rails into the distance. "Tails, get back before you fall!" Moraine yelled after him. "It's not likely I'll fall." Miles shouted back. "Cable-stayed bridges are strong and tough, and the guard rails are fully secure."

"That's what I hate about you, twin-tailed freak." A voice that sounded as young as Miles, but with a harsh, dangerous tone, whispered in Miles' ear. Miles turned around and saw a grey warthog of his own age stepping up next to him. "Tusk!" yelped Miles. He turned to run back to Moraine, but Tusk grabbed him by the arm. Miles squeaked with pain as his nemesis twisted his arm painfully. "Not only are you a double tailed freakazoid, you're also a wet little nerd who goes running to mommy when the going gets tough. You know what happened when you told on me to your psycho dad? He came round to my house and told my mom, and now she says I can't play my Xbox for two weeks! Well, here's what you get for telling on me!"

Moraine ran up to Tusk and struck a fighting stance that she'd learnt from her karate classes. Her eyes were cold and menacing as she stared at Tusk. "You want to be very, very sure you want to go down this road, because I got his back." she snarled at the warthog. Tusk may have been a bully, but he wasn't stupid. Seeing the look in Moraine's eyes, he shoved Miles in the back, trying to push him towards Moraine, then turned and ran. As such, Tusk didn't see Miles stumble in a slightly different angle than intended, teeter on the edge of oblivion for a moment, and then tumble off the bridge as momentum carried him over the guard rails. Moraine and Miles screamed as one as the young fox plummeted into the deep river valley.

Moraine fell to her knees and started sobbing. She didn't know how long she stayed there, but her tormented thoughts were interrupted by the voice of her cousin. "Don't cry, Moraine. I'm here." Moraine opened her eyes and saw something beyond her belief. Miles was hovering in midair right in front of her, suspended over the side of the viaduct. If anything other than magic was keeping him there, it was the fact that his two tails were spinning around in a blur above him. "Miles? How are you doing that?" Moraine gaped. Miles flew uncertainly towards the bridge, eventually controlling his course enough to land near to Moraine. His tails stopped rotating and he looked confused at Moraine's question. "I don't know how I did that. When I was falling, my tails were waving around a lot in fright, and then I started rising back up. It's scientifically impossible, though. Sure, a helicopter works a bit like that, but I don't have a tail rotor to control my direction, and anyway, my tails are the wrong shape to act as an aerofoil."

"Well, as granddad would say, 'not everything can be explained by science.' Now come on, Tails. Let's get the sugar and head home before you scare me like that again." As the cousins walked off in the direction of the corner shop, something blue shot past them at high speed, heading in the direction of Green Hill Park. "What do you suppose that was?" asked Miles, scientific curiosity replacing his slightly shaken demeanour. "Couldn't tell. It was moving too fast." shrugged Moraine. "It's certainly been a day for weird events, though."

 **No prizes for guessing what the "blue blur" at the end was! Anyways, I've mixed up the Prower family tree a bit. As in the Archie comics, Tails' parents are Amadeus and Rosemary, and his grandfather is Merlin, but I also put in two characters from the Fleetway comics as Tails' cousins. In the Fleetway comics, Errol and Moraine Blackthorn were twin warrior foxes from the "high fantasy " realm of the "Nameless Zone." I tweaked their history, so they're no longer fantasy warriors, but they're still fighters. As mentioned, Errol's a junior lieutenant in the army, and (although it probably wasn't made clear) Moraine is a karate black belt. Oh, and I changed the first name of Professor Pickle. Calling him "Dil" always seemed rather groan-worthy to me. That pun is almost as bad as...er...Miles Prower? Anyway, next time, we see what the world's eggiest terrorist has been up to in the last two years. Don't miss it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, we're back! As promised, this episode reveals some of what Eggman's been up to over the nearly two years since his escape from custody. Thanks to the guys that have bumped the story up to three follows and three favourites, it really feels good to know that someone likes my writing! The usual disclaimer: I don't own Sonic or any of the other characters. They're owned by Sega, Archie Comics, Fleetway, Ken Penders and DiC. Also, as it gets a mention in this chapter, I don't own Star Wars either (I wish!) Star Wars is owned by either George Lucas or Disney (not quite sure which has executive control after Force Awakens.)**

TIME: 22 June 3324

PLACE: The Egg Bunker, undisclosed location.

The rotund figure of Doctor Eggman sang merrily if tunelessly as he sat in the luxurious command chair in the Egg Bunker's control room. The room itself was a sterile white amphitheatre surrounded by various computer consoles and dominated by Eggman's large, vaguely eggcup shaped command chair. The effect was not unlike the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

"I am the Eggman, that's who I am! I am the Eggman, I've got the master plan…!" Eggman sang out at the top of his voice, tapping away briskly at the keyboard attached to his chair. The prospect of mayhem on a global scale, eventually leading to his supremacy, was something that always made Eggman feel musical, and the program he was currently writing was no exception. Lines of code for the computer virus nicknamed, with all Eggman's usual subtlety, the Egg Virus, played over the screen of the console behind him. Eggman was very pleased with himself for creating the Egg Virus. To all intents and purposes, it worked like a computerised version of HIV-AIDS. As soon as it was detected by an antivirus program, the Egg Virus both squelched any warning messages sent from the antivirus, then infected the antivirus software itself, before laying dormant. Dormant, that is, until Eggman sent a seemingly innocuous signal, and then…boom. The Egg Virus would explode out of the compromised antivirus and bring the infected system to a grinding halt.

With perfect timing, the Egg Bunker's lights flickered and went out. At the same time, the computers around the room went dead. Eggman snarled, lost in the darkness, before the sinister red lights of the emergency power system kicked in. Eggman had stopped singing when the power failed, and now sat slumped in his command chair, quietly cursing at the loss of the last ten minutes' work on the Egg Virus. He knew exactly why the power had failed as well. It was a very simple answer, he was out of fuel. The Egg Bunker had been designed with an omnifuel furnace, a type of power core designed to drag the maximum energy from any kind of fuel, from weapons-grade plutonium to mouldy potato peelings. The omnifuel furnace had been one of the crowning glories of his previous self's national industrial corporation, Robotnik Industries. It had made the future terrorist a billionaire. Eggman suppressed a snarl as he recalled that the company had now passed to his balding, big-nosed, slimy nephew Colin. Rumour was, even the workforce didn't like their new CEO much, referring to him behind his back as "Snivelly." Well, Colin had better watch out, because when Eggman made his move…

Eggman's scowl deepened. That move would have to be postponed, given the fuel situation. The omnifuel furnace was an amazing piece of technology, but even it couldn't break the laws of thermodynamics and run on nothing.

A small yellow and black cube rolled like a dice into the room, drawing Eggman's attention. As he watched, the cube unfolded into a pair of blocks connected by a long, jointed arm like that of a cherry picker. Two spindly arms ending in oversized white metallic hands sprouted from the sides of the upper block, followed by flaps opening to reveal a crude robotic face of two glowing blue optics and a mouth set in a permanent goofy grin. "Hey, boss-man! I heard you down the corridor. You in pain?" the small robot asked in a voice with an accent straight out of a spaghetti western. A small tic started fluttering under Eggman's eye. He'd always been rather touchy about his less-than-melodious singing voice ever since the humiliation of being thrown out of his primary school choir. There was a loaded silence for a second, then Eggman erupted, screaming madly while throwing the contents of a conveniently placed wrench set at the hapless droid, which scurried madly around to try and avoid being hit.

"No, I am not in pain, Cubot! I am merely singing melodiously as a prelude to my inevitable worldwide takeover, you mutinous, mutated slab of insalubrious circuitry! Why I bothered to construct you in the first place is beyond me! And another thing, it's not 'boss-man', alright? It's 'Master!' Got that? 'Master!'" A large spanner finally impacted Cubot's head with a satisfying thunk, and Eggman's incandescent rage began to subside. "Now, what did you want, Cubot? Make it quick, I'm a busy megalomaniac." Cubot scratched his metallic head, and Eggman resolved to give Cubot's computer brain a tune-up as soon as power was restored. The small yellow and black droid had been one of the first creations to come out of the Egg Bunker's foundry, and he was showing his age after two years of constant operation. Not only was Cubot's memory suffering from lagging response times, but his artificial intelligence had dipped to the level where Eggman doubted that Cubot could now even spell "artificial intelligence." Most worrying of all was the fact that Cubot's voice chip had become corrupted, giving him a voice like Lee Van Cleef in "The good, the bad and the ugly."

"Oh yeah, I remember now!" Cubot drawled, the memory filtering through at last. "Y'all remember that stupid robot you built with the drills for hands and a stupid pointy nose?" Eggman thought for a second. "You mean Grounder?" Eggman referenced the mining robot that was the most likely candidate to fit Cubot's description, all the while amazed at Cubot's gall in calling anything else stupid. "Yeah, that's the one." Cubot continued blithely. "Y'all sent him out looking underground for energy sources, didn't you?"

Eggman was rapidly losing patience with the erratic robot. "I did. As a mining robot, it seemed like a good idea, especially as I didn't have to take the Egg Mole and do it myself. Now, kindly get to the point!" Cubot was unfazed by Eggman's shouting. He'd suffered it many times before. "Grounder's back. Apparently he's found something." Eggman's face split into his trademark deranged toothy grin. "And just in time. We're out of fuel, and the emergency power won't last much longer. Get Grounder in here at once."

Cubot folded up into his "dice" form and rolled out of the room. Minutes later, the mining robot, Grounder, rolled into the room on tank tracks. He was about four feet tall, and coated with a layer of blue-green paint. His short, stubby arms were currently tipped with a pair of rock drills, but Eggman had designed a variety of attachments to fit on Grounder's wrist sockets. A third drill bit formed a rudimentary nose under the two silver pressure gauges that formed Grounder's "eyes". "Ah, Grounder! So good to see you!" Eggman said pleasantly. "I understand that you have located a source of energy?" A flap below Grounder's drill nose opened, forming a kind of mouth. "Yup, I got something good here!" Grounder declared in his goofy, nasal voice. "So, what is it?" Eggman prompted expectantly. "Oil? Coal? Natural gas? Uranium ore?"

"Better than that!" Grounder declared confidently. A panel on his chest opened, revealing a secret compartment. Inside the compartment sat a blue gemstone. It was about the size of a man's fist, and glowed with an inner light. However, all Eggman saw was a pretty piece of jewellery. Moving with a speed that was at odds with his portly frame, Eggman lunged at Grounder and grabbed the surprised robot's thick neck section. "You metal moron! Computerised cretin! I need a power source, not a piece of jewellery! I might have known you'd mess up without Scratch to oversee things! You…you…you…" Eggman floundered for an insult. "NINCOMBOT!" As Eggman paused for breath in his tirade, Grounder spoke up. "But boss, that stone's packed with energy! My sensors nearly blew when I scanned it!" Eggman paused, letting the relieved Grounder go. While Eggman knew that Grounder wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and for that reason was often overseen by a chicken-shaped tactical robot dubbed "Scratch ", Eggman also knew that Grounder's energy sensors were second to none. "Very well, Grounder. Tell me about this gem."

At Eggman's request, a long roll of data printout started spewing from Grounder's mouth like a long tongue. Eggman grabbed the printout and started reading. "Stone is of unknown origin, hardness 10+ on the expanded Mohs scale, crystal formation hexagonal, specific gravity 3.0. Emitting unknown form of energy (not radioactivity) that defies analysis. Unknown energy is in excess of 3000 terajoules. Conclusion: if energy is continuous, it would be capable of running all functions of the Egg Bunker at 200% capacity for years." Eggman put down the printout and patted the waiting Grounder on his head as if he was a pet dog. "Grounder, you are a genius!" Eggman praised his creation. Grounder's face twisted in confusion. "Is that good?" he muttered to himself. Fortunately for Grounder, Eggman didn't hear him. He was already halfway to the power generator. If his hunch was right, he could bypass the omnifuel furnace and link the gem directly to the power coils. He had a pretty good idea what he was holding. Eggman's grandfather, Gerald, had been a notable scientist as well, although Eggman recalled from his early years that Gerald's experiments had eventually turned from "impressive" to "totally wacky." Just before Gerald had disappeared-Eggman remembered as a child listening to an austere, black-suited government official conveying his regrets to the family that Gerald had been killed in a car crash, and even at that tender age, not believing a word of it-Eggman recalled his grandfather babbling excitedly about his experiments and research. Quite frankly, the young Eggman had dismissed the claims as little more than fevered ranting. Genetically spliced Mobian/alien hybrids? Sentient, gelatinous cyborg sentries based on an old legend about a super-powerful water god? Yeah, right!

However, young Eggman had been intrigued by one little nugget of information that Gerald had let slip in an unguarded moment. On the last day before Gerald had to return to his scientific research centre, the old scientist had expressed a desire to watch a film with young Eggman. The younger Robotnik had chosen his favourite movie at that time, the original Star Wars. As the movie had come to the scene where the Death Star destroyed planet Alderaan, young Eggman had asked curiously how much energy would be required to accomplish the destruction of a planet. Gerald had smiled benignly and explained that the only things capable of producing that much energy were a kind of extremely rare gemstone. Over the centuries, these stones had become extremely rare, and most people just thought of them as a fairytale. However, as Gerald explained, there was overwhelming evidence that these "Chaos Emeralds" did actually exist. "So these emeralds could blow up a planet?" Young Eggman had asked, wide-eyed. "Only if their energy was tapped, stored, and released all at once." Gerald had clarified, before a sour look flitted across the old man's face and he muttered something unintelligible about "eclipse cannon."

Back from his memories, Eggman carefully linked the shiny gem up to the power coils of the main generator, stepping back and hesitantly throwing the main switch. There was a loud 'thunk', followed by a rising hum of power, and then Eggman staggered backwards, temporarily blinded as the dim red of the emergency lighting was instantly replaced by dazzling blue-white spotlights. Eggman's maniacal grin returned as he did a portly little dance around the generator room. "Hahaha! It works! It's a Chaos Emerald! Thank you, granddad! Now that I have this much power, it's only a matter of plotting my last few schemes! The age of disorder is over, and the age of the Eggman Empire has begun!" Eggman paused in his rant to pose dramatically like Mussolini, then immediately started cackling again. His raucous laughter echoed down the corridors of the Egg Bunker, entering the storage hangars on the lower level, and coming to the unlistening ears of a vast legion of rotund orange robots.

 **Hands up everyone who used to love Robotnik's imaginative insults to Scratch and Grounder during AoStH! Well, the dumbots have come up with the goods this time! Eggman's got a Chaos Emerald and he's not afraid to use it! Join us next time as the storm breaks over the United Federation, and the manure really starts to hit the fan...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, I'm finally back! Sorry for the wait, but I first went on a camping holiday, and when I returned home, my internet connection was malfunctioning, so I had to wait a week to be reconnected. Anyway, I'm really happy to see that I've got so many likes and follows since I was last here, and the Robotnik war hasn't even properly kicked off yet! So, as promised, this is the chapter where Eggman makes his opening move, and things start taking on the general shape of an avocado...**

TIME: 13 August, 3324

PLACE: Guardian Units of the Nation HQ, Central City, United Federation.

The main control room of GUN headquarters was a vast semicircular space in the basement of a shining glass and steel tower on the southern edge of Central City. Right now, as Commander Abraham Tower walked into the room, something was obviously happening, and it didn't look good. Technicians scurried around like spooked rabbits, handing each other sets of paper printouts, while other technicians tapped frantically at their console stations. Commander Tower cleared his throat pointedly. One of the GUN operatives noticed and yelled "Tenshun! Commander on deck!" This managed to subdue the noisy babble as the soldiers in the room acknowledged their leader.

"So, dare I ask what's going on, or do I just chalk it up to the curse of Friday the thirteenth?" Commander Tower asked with his typical dry humour. A few technicians laughed nervously. One of their number, who hadn't joined in the laughter, walked up to his commander and handed him a report with shaking hands. Commander Tower scanned the report and frowned. "Total radar blackout over a four hundred mile radius south of Station Square?" he asked. "I reckon you'd better show me the radar screen, Taylor." Taylor and his superior walked back to the radar screen. A large portion of the screen was taken up with nothing but swirling static. Commander Tower scratched his head. "Taylor, did you break this sonofabitch?" he grunted. Taylor shook his head. "No sir. I didn't do anything to it, sir." Commander Tower huffed in semi-satisfaction. "Good, because you know I'd throw your ass out of GUN if you did." Taylor nodded. "Yes sir. I know you would, sir."

There was a brief pause as Commander Tower tried to work out if Taylor was being sarcastically insubordinate. In the end, the commander of GUN decided that there were bigger problems brewing than a slightly cheeky comment from one of his soldiers. "You've run the standard diagnostic?" Commander Tower asked. "Yes sir. But I don't think it's a problem with the radar. The blackout area has moved about sixty miles since it appeared on our screens. I'm pretty sure someone is jamming us."

"If we can't see them on radar, maybe we can see them by other means." Commander Tower rubbed his chin. "Can we get an infrared scan of the area?" A technician at another console pressed some buttons, and his eyes widened. "I think we're in trouble, sir." He stated nervously. Commander Tower joined the soldier in looking at the infrared scan. The screen was showing the same area as the radar, and the colours indicating the background temperature showed that the sky was significantly hotter than it should have been. "According to these readings, sir, there are only two possibilities. The first is that the sky in this area has somehow spontaneously combusted. The second…well…" Commander Tower glared at the nervous soldier. "Spit it out, man. The second possibility?" The technician swallowed. "Maybe it's a whole heap of jet engines all burning away at once."

"Transmit the yellow alert command." Commander Tower ordered. "We don't fire yet, but I want all GUN forces on weapons posture one. Warning red, weapons tight. I want everything loaded. And someone get me a line to the president." As the GUN soldiers scrambled to obey their leader, one ran up to Commander Tower. "Sir, the president is on Screen Six." Commander Tower nodded, and marched briskly up to one of the large video screens on the wall. The jowly, grey haired face of the President of the United Federation stared back at him. Commander Tower decided that beating around the bush was pointless in the current situation, so he spoke first, before the president could open his mouth. "Sorry for the lack of protocol, sir, but GUN has reason to believe that a large hostile force is currently approaching United Federation territory. I strongly suggest that you evacuate the White House and get Air Force One to Fort Saturn." On screen, the president's flabby face visibly paled. "A very good idea, Commander Tower. After all, we must maintain a working government in a wartime situation."

A second figure, tall and thin with brown hair and intelligent brown eyes in his aquiline face, whispered in the president's ear. The president harrumphed and turned back to Commander Tower. "The vice-president informs me that he will remain here to coordinate suitable evacuation and rescue operations. Emergency broadcasts, that kind of thing. I will be at Fort Saturn within two hours, Commander. Please let them know to expect me." The screen went blank, the president's face replaced by the star and laurel symbol of GUN. A young officer wearing major's rank insignia spoke quietly to Commander Tower. "I don't want to sound critical, sir, but the Vice President seems to have a lot more guts than the president himself." Commander Tower gave a short bark of laughter. "Our esteemed president has a knack for saving his own skin. Don't blame me though, major. I voted for the other guy."

A tense hour slowly passed. The radar dead zone crept closer to Station Square, the coastal resort city known as the "Emerald Coast." Reports came in from GUN military bases signifying their readiness. Admiral Inglebard of the United Federation Navy reported that the naval battle group based at Metal Harbour was en route to the waters surrounding Station Square, while a report from Dr. Isara of the GUN R&D centre near Megacentral stated that the GUN robotic forces were 80% activated. Another report came in from Empire City, seventy miles up the coast from Station Square, reporting that the Seventh Mechanised Cavalry, riding walkers designated as "Hotshots" or "Bigfoots" depending on the weapons fit, was advancing to Station Square under the command of Colonel Ogami. Then, abruptly, one after the other, every screen in the GUN headquarters flickered off. "What now?" growled Commander Tower in irritation. One of the technicians frowned incredulously. "The whole system is down. Looks like someone got a virus into the GUN mainframe somehow. I don't know how, though. The firewalls and antivirus we have are state of the art. Completely unbreakable!"

"Never did like the phrase 'unbreakable.'" Commander Tower grumbled. "Always reminded me too much of the word 'unsinkable.' Like the Titanic. You know, glug glug glug!" Commander Tower tried to lighten the serious situation with comical 'sinking ship' noises. No-one laughed, and the commander was relieved when something happened to draw attention away from his failed joke. One by one, the screens came back to life. But instead of showing the symbol of GUN, the symbol that appeared on the screen was a stylised rendering of a grinning face with a massive moustache. Commander Tower started having grave suspicions as to the origin of the attacking force, suspicions that were confirmed when the central and largest screen in the room lit up and revealed a fat, bald man with a huge moustache.

"Robotnik." Commander Tower hissed. The fat man scowled. "No one told you then, Commander? I go by the name Eggman now." Commander Tower snorted. "Eggman, Robotnik, who cares? You're still a fat geek with delusions of grandeur. So, I suppose this is your revenge? If so, I'm not impressed." Actually, Commander Tower was quite rattled, but he tried to hide it from Eggman. Eggman grinned widely at the comment, and did a terrible impression of Al Jolson in the classic film 'The Jazz Singer.' "You ain't seen nothing yet." A dark-skinned technician manning one of the defunct consoles rolled his eyes at the borderline offensive accent that Eggman had affected. On the screen, Eggman noticed, and grinned even wider. "Oh, so you don't like my mimicry act? Well then, how about a song?" Eggman's face disappeared from the screen, replaced with the symbol on all the other screens, and Commander Tower grimaced as music started playing from the control room speakers. The song was Take That's release 'Rule The World.'

The president of the United Federation settled back in the seat of his private jet, Air Force One, tapping his fingers impatiently. Bad weather had meant that the jet had been diverted to a different flight path, south of the original plan. Still, if it meant a safe arrival… The president wondered idly how the Vice President was doing, trying to calm the no-doubt hysterical populace. He allowed himself a slight smile. Beneath the jovial, chubby veneer he presented to the public, the president was as ruthless and scheming as any politician. You had to be, to get the top job. And this was a golden opportunity. If the Vice President made a hash of the evacuation plans, his political ambitions would be over, he would go down in history as a bungling idiot, and the president would lose one rival for the top job. And if the vice-president succeeded in his efforts, he was part of the president's cabinet, so it counted as the president's success.

The heavily modified airliner shook in the slipstream of something passing it. The president peered out of the window by his seat and yelled in alarm. The escort planes assigned to Air Force One were the most technically advanced fighter jets in the world, flown by the best pilots of the United Federation. But the fact remained that Air Force One only boasted two escorts, and right now, they were being overwhelmed by wave upon wave of strange aircraft. The enemy planes were ugly, stubby, vaguely egg-shaped planes, similar in shape to A-10 attack planes. Some of them, painted yellow, had twin fuselages, but most were silver in colour and had garish shark mouths on their noses. One of the president's stewardesses and bodyguards ran up to the president. "We're under hostile attack, sir. The pilot will try to take evasive action. Please buckle your seatbelt." The president just had time to buckle up before the aircraft lurched to the side in a roll. Outside, three of the silver egg planes noticed Air Force One trying to escape, and broke away from the main group, enacting a secret program embedded in their computer brains. Throttles open fully, the three egg planes rammed the president's plane in a kamikaze run. A wing full of kerosene exploded, the cockpit crumpled from a second hit, and the president's further political ambitions died with him in an incandescent fireball.

In the coastal city of Station Square, the resort city had become a war zone. Small groups of GUN soldiers and mechs fought desperately, unable to call for fire support thanks to the ravages of the Egg Virus. Their opponents, small rotund orange automatons, some walking on stubby legs, some flying with small rectangular wings, kept up a steady stream of fire at the beleaguered GUN forces. In the fashionable downtown business district of Station Square, a short, balding man with a long nose scrambled frantically away from a small group of the robots that were chasing him. He tumbled down a shallow incline into a construction site, his expensive suit getting ruined as he fell in a muddy puddle. Then, his heart sank even further. In front of him was a large, grey robot with green highlights. It had a single, cyclopean optic in its domed head, and its arms ended in anti-tank missile launchers. Next to this robot hovered a small, hemispherical anti-gravity craft. Sitting inside the craft was a figure he'd always dreaded seeing, even as a child. The figure's round form sat superciliously in the craft, a smug smile on its flabby, moustached face.

"Hello Colin." The figure said deceptively pleasantly. "Or should I call you 'Snivelly?'" The small man gulped, sweating. "Hello, uncle Ivo." he said in a tiny voice. Eggman grinned wolfishly at his nephew. "Actually, it's Eggman now. I changed my name. And I hear you usurped my company." The last of the colour in Colin 'Snivelly' Robotnik's face drained away. Eggman continued. "Normally, I'd kill someone for doing that, but you're family, so I'm going to give you a choice. The first option is for you to give me my company back and come and work for me. Consider it a buyout of your post on the board of directors. Or, your other option is to refuse, in which case I will have no choice but to have Missile Wrist turn you into guacamole." The large grey robot raised its launcher arms menacingly. Snivelly needed no further encouragement. Throwing himself down on the muddy ground, he started grovelling shamelessly. "Oh, please don't kill me, Uncle Ivo! I have a girlfriend and a kid! Kill them instead! I don't want to die! I'll do whatever you say! I'll sign over Robotnik Industries to you tonight! Please don't kill me, uncle Ivo!" Eggman stepped out of his Egg Pod hovercraft and patted the trembling Snivelly on the head. "I knew you'd make the right choice, Snivelly. Don't worry, you can continue to run Robotnik Industries. Under supervision, of course. I'll need you to set up a few extra production lines for robot building. Oh, and one more thing." Eggman pulled Snivelly's chin up so his watery brown eyes were looking directly into Eggman's round, reflective glasses. Snivelly tried not to gag on his uncle's fetid, eggy breath as Eggman spelled out his new position in life. "From now on, Snivelly, it's not 'Uncle Ivo.' From now on, you call me 'Sir.' Got that?"

"Yes, sir." squeaked Snivelly pathetically.

 **Oh, Snivelly. When will you learn?...Just in case it wasn't clear (and it probably wasn't!) the president in this chapter is the president from the Sonic X series, while the vice-president is based on the president from the Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog games. And finally, if anyone had their suspicions, yes, the GUN senior officers are named after characters from other Sega games: Vyse Inglebard (Panzer Dragoon), Isara Gunther (Valkyria Chronicles) and Ichiro Ogami (Sakura Wars). Next time, Eggman extends his war with a preemptive strike on the Felis Empire. Join us again soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, we're back in the Felis Empire this chapter, and we witness the fall of an Emperor. One thing I will say is that this is probably the darkest chapter I've written so far, with a body count approaching "Game of Thrones." territory. If you believe this fic should be recategorised as M, I quite understand, but in my defence, I've seen plenty of equally dark or worse fanfiction under the T rating. So unless I get a huge outcry, the story will remain T. Many thanks to all my reviewers, followers and favouriters (if that is a word.) As usual, I only own my OC's but given that there are only three official Sonic characters appearing this chapter, it turns out I do own most of the characters this week...**

TIME: 16 August 3324

PLACE: Imperial palace, Starlight City, Felis Empire

Princess Blaze looked up in slight alarm as the palace shook slightly. Putting down her textbook of "Introspections On Leadership," and slipping her reading glasses into the pocket of her purple riding jacket, she hopped down from her seat and walked quickly over to the door to her chambers. Looking out, she saw her father striding past. "Father?" the princess called. "Is that an earthquake?" Emperor Solar stopped, turning to face his daughter. "No, Ororo. It's an attack. It seems that the terrorist called Eggman has grown bold enough to strike Imperial soil. I want you to go with Honey and prepare for evacuation. I've already given the same command to Flare and Kanna." The emperor bent down and kissed his younger daughter on the forehead. "I will always love you, blazy." Blaze smiled at her childhood nickname, but her face soon became serious again. "What about you, father?" The emperor's face hardened. "It is the duty of a leader to protect his people, so I will fulfil my leader's imperative." Then he was gone, striding purposefully down the palace corridor.

A young cat, maybe a year or two older than Blaze, golden yellow in colour with dark hair styled into twin pigtails, hazel brown eyes and unusually enormous ears tipped with white tufts of fur, walked quietly up to the princess from where she had been standing unobtrusively in an alcove. She was wearing the outfit of a maid, with a black dress to just above the knee, a white apron, white lace trim on the hem of her dress and sleeves, a frilly lace cap and black stockings and shoes. The only two things that pegged her as slightly different from the other palace maids were a stylish red velvet choker around her neck and a slight, barely noticeable bulge in the upper back area of her dress. "If you would accompany me, my lady, I have already drawn up a list of items that may prove useful in an evacuation situation." A sly smile passed over Blaze's face. "Honey, were you eavesdropping?" The other cat blushed. "No!" she declared, her eyes shifting back and forth, before she made a cute gesture, putting her two index fingers together a few inches under her chin and admitting "Maybe?" Despite the serious situation, Blaze burst out laughing at the antics of Honey, her personal maid and attendant.

Honey was a low-level member of House Aetherion, one of the five great clans of the Felis Empire. Driven by a desire to better herself, she had volunteered for the inter-house cultural exchange scheme, and as a result, had ended up as a maid in the service of House Incendrius. It was not long before it became apparent that Honey was not cut out for domestic service. She was inadvertently destructive to an amazing level, and virtually every shift she was assigned to ended with something valuable being accidentally smashed, ripped or trodden on. Honey was saved from dismissal by grace of two things. Firstly, she had become the personal favourite of Princess Blaze. Secondly, Blaze had quickly discovered Honey's talent for designing and putting together stylish outfits of every kind. As a result, Honey was reassigned as Blaze's personal attendant, a term covering seamstress, bodyguard and confidante. Her bodyguard duties had resulted from her knowledge of martial arts, coupled with a keen eye for using throwing weapons and another, more esoteric talent related to the clan of her birth. Blaze smiled at her servant and friend. "I won't tell father if you don't. Now, tell me what I need to pack."

Emperor Solar marched out of the palace onto a balcony overlooking the courtyard and beyond, the city. The sky was filled with the same small, tubby, silver and yellow aircraft that had been so effective against the United Federation. Only now, they were dive-bombing and strafing the city. His city. His people.

A feral snarl escaped Solar's lips as the temperature around him spiked. The railings under his clenching fists started to warp and melt in the sudden heat. The emperor roared at the top of his voice as a shroud of white fire enveloped him, a roar that amplified the leader of the Felis Empire's voice into the screech of some eldritch bird of prey. Solar rose into the air above the palace, and several of the Egg Planes registered this new threat and moved to intercept. Contemptuously, Solar lashed out with a wave of fire that temporarily made it seem like the sky was burning. As the blast passed by, the sky was filled with explosions of yellow, each shining star marking the end of an Egg Plane. The robots on the streets of Starlight City looked up, almost as if they were afraid now that they had lost their air cover. And, in a heavily shielded command shuttle at the rear of the attacking Eggman Empire army, the sub-commander assigned to this battle zone put his well-informed plan into action.

A binary command sent three Egg Tankers rushing towards the emperor. Solar frowned, wondering as to the purpose of this gambit. Egg Tankers were merely huge fuel tanks with wings, engines and simple robotic brains attached. They had absolutely no value in an attack, as they were not fitted with even defensive armament. This was how Solar made his final error. He hesitated, and thus he was lost. The Egg Tankers closed into a tight circle around Solar and activated their self-destruct protocols. The tanks that formed the bodies of the tankers ruptured, releasing not burning fuel as would normally be the case, but clouds of supercooled carbon dioxide. The heavy gas sank downwards quickly, but it lingered long enough to starve even Solar's white hot fire of both heat and oxygen. Shivering, half-asphyxiated, Solar fell from the skies like a meteorite, crashing to the ground in the palace courtyard.

Unable to move, Solar dimly saw someone walking over to his fallen body. The figure crouched, and Solar felt a surge of relief as he recognised a member of the Imperial Court. "Ah, duke Flammen. Please, take me back to the palace… I must heal. You must rule the Empire in my stead while I recuperate." A nasty expression passed over Flammen's face. "Thank you, my lord. But you know, we cannot win this war. To safeguard our future, I have made a deal with Eggman." Flammen produced a dagger from his robes of state. "Part of the deal was to dispose of you, and I will enjoy that part of the deal greatly. I'm sure you know why." Solar stared back without any trace of fear. "I stand by my decision. Your daughter was too unstable to be released into society, which you'd see if you didn't just want to use her for your own advancement." Flammen smiled darkly. "Maybe. But although I may not see that, you won't be seeing anything ever again." The dagger came down.

A massive gold-armoured foot stomped down beside Duke Flammen. The traitor stood up and regarded the huge, gold and grey robot in the crimson cape that now stood before him. "I assume that you are the Eggman Empire's representative?" The robot nodded. "I am Brutus, strategic commander of the Felis Empire battle zone. Your plan was an effective one." Flammen gripped the dagger's hilt tightly. "Just hold up your end of the bargain. My daughter must be rescued from the palace prison tonight." Brutus called over a small detachment of the rotund orange robots that made up the rank and file of Eggman's army. "Your sentiment revolts me, flesh creature, but I will honour our bargain. These Egg Pawns will escort you into the palace. Their orders are to eliminate the other royals, but you may seek out your offspring if you feel it is necessary."

"This way, highness. We'll get out through the scullery door. It's an old trick the maids use when they want to visit their boyfriends." Blaze looked slyly at Honey. "So you have a boyfriend? Who is he?" Honey's eyes widened and she blushed. "C…can we discuss this later?" The princess and the maid ran down a spiral staircase and came to a screeching halt. In the corridor before them stood four Egg Pawns, each armed with a long silver lance. Blaze dropped into a fighting stance, but Honey threw her arm out, blocking Blaze from attacking. "Please allow me, my lady." Honey stepped forward a pace and kicked up her left heel. A small steel throwing dagger attached to a strap on her shoe flicked upwards and she caught it with a swift movement. A further quick cutting motion sent the dagger slicing into one of the Egg Pawns' domed heads between its green optics. As the first pawn fell, a second charged at Honey with lance outstretched, but Honey ducked under the spear and slashed at the pawn with another dagger, slicing through its pneumatic lines and sending it crashing to the ground. "You are excused." Honey said as calmly as if she was showing out a guest, grabbing the disabled pawn's spear and driving it through the pawn's neck. The feline maid looked up at the other two pawns as they lowered their lances and prepared to charge. "I'm afraid that this will be somewhat messy." she sighed. The slight bulge on her upper back, under her dress, twitched and moved, and there was a noise of Velcro ripping apart as two carefully cut slits opened on the back of Honey's dress, and the genetic trait of House Aetherion was revealed. Honey rose into the air, supported by her pair of beautiful white wings, and threw a pair of daggers directly downwards as she swooped over the two Egg Pawns. The daggers stabbed into the heads of the pawns and they crashed to the ground as Honey dropped gracefully back to the floor and curtseyed to Blaze. "All clean, my lady."

Duke Flammen marched into the throne room, full of his own importance. While his daughter was next on his list, his ego drove him to satisfy this urge first. "At last, the throne of the Emperor. I've always wanted to sit on it. At last, the empire will have a ruler worthy of it." he cackled. The two Egg Pawns exchanged looks that, even on their highly simplified faces, could be construed as long-suffering.

The sound of the two Egg pawns collapsing into pieces disturbed Flammen from his self-absorption. Wheeling around, Flammen found himself looking into the blade of a fine, silvered katana. He half-smiled to himself. "Empress Flare." The empress stared back at him with cold eyes. "You will not ascend to the throne while I draw breath." she stated simply. Flammen sneered at the empress. "You won't kill me. Without your husband to back you up, you're just a weak little rich girl who doesn't have the guts." Flare kept her gaze on the treacherous duke. Her katana grazed his throat, drawing a thin line of blood. "You bet your life?" she asked quietly and evenly. Flammen looked into her eyes and his smug smile vanished. He was looking into the eyes of someone with no hope left, nothing left to live for except her revenge. His hand dropped to his own weapon, already knowing it was too late. His head hit the ground, his body falling beside it a moment later. Empress Flare leant against the throne of the Emperor, breathing heavily. Blood soaked the back of her kimono, the result of a trio of machine gun bullets from an Egg Pawn's gun, which were far more effective than their bulky, almost comical appearance suggested. She dimly heard the doors to the throne room being thrown open, and vowed that she would not live to become a hostage. "Pyre…Blaze…live to fight another day." she smiled weakly as she plunged the katana into her chest.

Commander Brutus stopped in front of a massive, reinforced steel vault door on the lowest level of the palace. There were already eight Egg Pawns there, trying to force the door open. "Stand aside." Brutus ordered. As the pawns scuttled out of the way, Brutus squared up to the door and hit the centre four times with planet-cracking force. The vault doors buckled and swung wide.

Brutus had already heard of the quite frankly embarrassing death of Duke Flammen, cut down in his moment of triumph by the mortally wounded empress. He felt no real interest or regret. The duke was already coming to the end of his usefulness. However, from the duke's ranting about his imprisoned daughter, the main spur that led him to betray his nation, what the girl could provide to Eggman's war effort was something special indeed. Brutus entered the vault, which was revealed to be much smaller than the outside would suggest. In the centre, restrained by shackles strong enough to hold an elephant, was a white furred female cat in her early twenties. Clad in a simple black outfit that provided a stark contrast to her white fur, her eyes were closed as if she was asleep. Brutus knelt before the duke's daughter. "Ignis Selvaria, can you hear me?" A moment of silence passed, followed by the white cat speaking softly. "Just as the philosophers say, the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of pain and suffering, for without pain and suffering, life has no meaning." The cat's eyelids flicked open, revealing a pair of blood-red irises, even as Brutus stepped back, his sensors registering a significant background temperature rise. The heavy shackles shattered and the cat rose to her feet, burning with blue-white fire and fixing Brutus with a hellfire glare. "Allow me to grant your life meaning."

Some distance away, in the smoking rubble of what had until recently been a small but prosperous market town, an Egg Pawn turned to face a small flying robot shaped like a metal bluebottle. A rapid exchange of binary took place, and as the courier robot buzzed away from the direction it had come from, the Egg Pawn announced its new orders to its compatriots. "Commander Brutus has ordered our unit to proceed to grid sector 71C immediately." Without a word, the unit of robotic soldiers lined up and marched off. None remained to see a pile of rubble shake and collapse, and a dusty, grimy, bruised figure emerge from under what had once been a house. "Brutus. I will remember that name." the figure growled in a youthful but husky female voice, before tying her matted blue hair back with a short length of dirt-stained white ribbon and limping off in the opposite direction to the robots.

 **Well, that was all pretty horrible. At least Blaze and Honey got away. Speaking of Honey, this is the "lost" character from the Sonic Fighters game who recently got her happy ending when she was included in the Xbox live/PSN version of Sonic Fighters, and then appeared in the Archie comics. I changed her outfit and job for the simple reason that I've been playing far too much Fire Emblem Fates recently. Check out some of Honey's moves and lines, and you'll find that they're virtually identical to the FEF characters Felicia and Jakob. Oh, and I made her wings real rather than just part of her costume. It's always been debatable whether Honey's wings are real or fake, but given that she can use them to glide in the Sonic Fighters game, that suggests to me that they're real. Also, Brutus is not my character. He appeared several times in the British Fleetway comics as a super powerful robot commander who was programmed with a copy of Eggman/Robotnik's brain patterns. He remains fairly unique, as he is pretty much the only enemy that Sonic was unable to defeat in any continuity. Fortunately for Sonic, Brutus rebelled against Eggman, who destroyed him with one of his machines. Anyway, next time, things get even worse for the world as Eggman attacks the Acorn Kingdom, and Sonic's hometown is at Ground Zero...**


End file.
